Ferrell Is Back, Stronger Than Before

VOLUSIA SPORTS

Deland's Star Kicker Is Recovered From A Knee Injury And Rising As A College Prospect.

August 25, 2004|By Tom Wyrwich, Special to the Sentinel

Never one to be afraid to make a tackle, DeLand punter Halley Ferrell ran to track down the returner who had broken through coverage. And he probably would have made it, too, if not for the Seminole player that clipped him on his oh-so-valuable right leg.

That snap, crackle and pop Ferrell felt in his right knee last season was the result of tears in his medial collateral, anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments in his punting leg. After months of rehabilitation, including taking the soccer season and spring football off, Ferrell is ready to return, and he said no one should expect anything less than the 44.4 yards per punt he averaged last season before the injury.

It's a scary thought for the opposition and enticing news for college coaches, considering that average is better than that of most college punters. That includes Jesse Stein, Florida State's punter last season, who averaged 42.1 yards.

Ferrell said the leg has only gotten stronger with the rehabilitation. Ferrell put on 20 pounds since the injury, and he turned it into muscle with help from his personal trainer.

Farrell has practiced with the team during the day all summer; he also worked two to three hours a night with his personal trainer. It's the same kind of work ethic Ferrell has displayed since the ninth grade when he continued the family tradition of punting and kicking.

Ferrell's brothers Dustin and John punted at South Florida and Navy, respectively, but Halley might just be the best of them all. His skills have brought recruiters all across the nation, including Florida State, Maryland and Michigan, to DeLand to see his powerful right leg.

"It was pretty amazing at first when the letters started coming in," Ferrell said. "But it kind of grows on you."

Ferrell will be recruited as a punter, but he's also DeLand's place-kicker, and he said he would also like to kick in college. It doesn't seem like much of a stretch. Almost all of his kickoffs go for touchbacks, he kicked four field goals longer than 50 yards last season and he said he has kicked a 62-yarder in practice.

"People always ask me, `Which one is he better at?' I tell them, `This guy can do both of them at a higher level than most,' " Fabrizio said.

Fabrizio, who took over at DeLand in January, has taken a considerable amount of care with Ferrell. Even though doctors had cleared Ferrell for spring football, Fabrizio didn't see any good reason to put him on the field and put him again in danger.

"We were extremely cautious about bringing him back the right way," Fabrizio said.

Even with as much time as he took off, nothing could take away the fear and anxiety of returning to the field for the first time.

"I was really scared and shaky," Ferrell said.

Scared and shaky have turned to confident and optimistic for Ferrell, even if his role on the team has been reduced since the injury.

Ferrell had played receiver and linebacker for the Bulldogs last season before the injury, but Fabrizio said he wouldn't use Ferrell for anything other than special teams.

"He's definitely good enough to start for us somewhere else," Fabrizio said. "But he's such a weapon as a kicker/punter that we're not going to use him anywhere else."

That doesn't mean that Ferrell's athleticism won't go to waste. Fabrizio said Ferrell is so athletic that it makes it easier for him to escape bad snaps.

Not only can he try to run a bad snap for a first down, he can also escape the rush and get a punt off. On punts, Ferrell is like an extra coverage man to tackle the returner.

Yes, even after the injury, Ferrell won't be scared to track someone down.

"There's are always a part of me that wants to go out and hit," Ferrell said. "It's just natural. I mean, I have two older brothers."